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I think it’s fair to say that this season had more pressure on it than any of the seasons before. Following season 3’s bumpy ride as well as its extremely controversial final episode, season 4 had a lot of questions to answer and a lot of people waiting to judge it ruthlessly. Having seen it all, I think most people will agree that season 4 has delivered on all fronts and surpassed expectations time and time again. For the sake of easily breaking down the reasons why, I’m going to divide them into 3 categories: old, new, and surprising. Season 4 succeeded through a mixture of maintaining the status quo and established conventions, adding new elements, and genuinely surprising us with some moments that nobody could have seen coming.

Old Stuff Done Well

One of the biggest reasons why season 4 was a success was because of all the ways it delivered on the things we already expected. Some people were worried that Twilight would consume the entire show thanks to her new status, and that wasn’t the case at all. We got multiple episodes focusing on all the rest of the mane 6 and Spike as well as episodes focusing on the characters in small groups.

Pinkie Apple Pie was the best outing we’ve seen using the Apple family and showing their various dynamics. Simple Ways was another prolonged look at the way Rarity and Applejack interact given their diametric personalities and interests. And we also saw the continuation of Fluttershy’s relationship with Discord following his reforming in season 3. In a nutshell, season 4 gave us something worthwhile for each character in the cast.

Not only them, but the CMC also got their time to shine. We were able to see their own group dynamics in Flight to the Finish and for all three of them we got to see more of their big sister relationships with RD, AJ, and Rarity. They aren’t being treated as a homogenous group by any stretch of the imagination and I really hope they get their cutie marks before the show ends.

The returning characters were also very welcome. Discord has now been thoroughly upgraded to a regular supporting character when he started off as a single-use villain. He’s clearly the same trickster he always was, but his priorities are noticeably changing as well as his role within the world. We also saw the Flim Flam brothers make a comeback to show that good villains aren’t always defeated after just one episode.

In particular, season 4 excelled in its adherence to continuity. It seemed like every episode was drawing on something said or done in a previous episode like RD’s interaction with the Wonderbolts at Rainbow Falls or the existence of the Daring Do books. The world is becoming more and more clear as these pieces establish themselves beyond the episodes in which they’re introduced. Season 5 looks like it might have an even greater focus on working with the changes that have already happened.

New Stuff Introduced

Of course, you can’t expect the show to continue to be enjoyable if everything stays the same as it always was. Season 4 also managed to bring new assets into the show from many different angles.

We got new supporting characters like Coco Pommel and Cheese Sandwich who turned out to become really likable characters. Since we know how much the writers value continuity, I wouldn’t be surprised if those characters reappear in season 5. I especially loved Maud Pie. Her personality was so strikingly different from all the other characters we’ve seen which made her episode into the funniest one of season 4. It seems season 4 was just filled with new characters that viewers immediately fell in love with.

We also got new pieces of the world being introduced or expanded further. We finally got a modern day episode set in Manehattan and were also introduced to Rainbow Falls. Ponyville is great and all, but you can’t expect to find an unlimited number of stories than can take place in a small town. We’ve all seen the map of Equestria, and there are clearly many more places to explore and season 5 seems set to tackle them head on. The world is one of the things people love most about MLP, and season 4 continued to expand on it.

But new stuff doesn’t necessarily mean things we’ve never seen before; it’s entirely possible to do new things with the characters you already have. Season 4 was also great because it looked at some relationships we’ve not studied in the past. Testing Testing was a hilarious look at the relationship between Twilight and RD with Twilight being the irritated teacher and RD being the reluctant student. Bats! took a look at the relationship between AJ and Fluttershy when their normally quite similar interests managed to conflict. And For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils was a look at how another one of the CMC managed to interact with Luna who so rarely gets any time to herself.

Surprising Stuff That No One Expected

Perhaps the biggest reason why season 4 was so good was because it showed us some things that nobody could have predicted. Flight to the Finish was a surprisingly mature look at the nature of disability which is something normally ignored completely in children’s TV. Although some people are still upset by the destruction of Twilight’s library, it feels a lot like the death of a main character without actually killing anyone off. Again, it is a surprisingly mature concept to come to grips with and definitely caught some people off guard.

We also got a musical episode, starring Pinkie, and with a guest appearance from Weird Al. It’s like a dream come true, and Pinkie Pride is easily one of the highlights of season 4. We got to see Luna singing in the finale and even Discord got his own song in Three’s a Crowd. I’m still waiting for RD to get her own rock song about how awesome she is, but season 4 gave us some new musical things to listen to that I know many people were hoping for.

I am also going to say that Twilight’s final battle with Tirek was absolutely stunning. It was so over the top, so far from the show’s usual feel, and I loved every second of it. The writers and animators have shown that they know how to handle an epic magical battle, and I can’t wait to see how they try and top it in season 5.

I would also like to add a little bit down here about Derpy. Her apparent removal from season 3 was not nearly enough to ruin the experience, but it was still a bit sad that she was taken out of the background. For those who avoided the spoilers, her appearance in Rainbow Falls and her subsequent presence in the background of the rest of the season was a really nice surprise. It added that little cherry on top that made the experience feel complete.

All in All...

I think there is little doubt in my mind that season 4 is the best season so far. It’s not perfect, but no season of any show in existence can truthfully be called perfect. But what it did it did better than all the other seasons before it, bringing the old things we love and mixing them up with new ideas that scored hit after hit. The songs were lovely, the animation was better than before, and the greater continuity made for an experience that was complete and satisfying. For a season that had so much riding on it, I think few people have been disappointed with what they got.

Some people were worried that Twilight would consume the entire show thanks to her new status, and that wasn’t the case at all.

Quite the opposite, actually. Sure, she got the opener and finale, but in between there was so little Twilight it made me a bit sour, unfortunately. I'm especially a fan of slice-of-life stories and I was really looking forward to some dorky goodness. But when her new status was addressed (and it took them a long time to do so), it was only about that, and not really her personality.

Now that they're all somewhat equal in a Council of Friendship I'm hoping for some good old adorkableness in S5. And maybe I'll still get that flight school episode.

Actually, one of my main problems is that it seems Twilight the unicorn is very much... dead.

Fan theories aside (Although she DID vaporize and wake up in an ethereal plane in which she meets god...), The Twilight I KNEW and quite frankly related to... Wasn't there... Isntead there was this wise pony who knew everything about friendship... Where were the panic attacks!? Going back to magic kindergarten... Especially after I had my finals, I wanted nothing more than to see an episode in which Twilight goes through her panicking nature, so I could feel less bad about my misery and share it with Twilight... But I got no such thing...
Where's panicky Twilight!? I want panicky Twilight!

It doesn't work that way because that's not what's happening. What's happening is super dash is breaking the speed of light, and is travelling back in time. The camera is simply following dash's perspective, the on where she goes backwards.

And now we get to think about what the next season may hold: A house-warming party for Twilight's new castle? Fundraising to repair/rebuild the Ponyville library? CMC's finally start getting their cutie marks?

I think the fact that everypony lost theirs when their power was absorbed should be a good avenue for cutiemark research.

I'm still hoping for traveling Equestria and beyond. I'd love to see more of the world as we've mostly stuck to 2 or 3 "main" locations, only occasionally getting to see somewhere new like Rainbow Falls, Appleloosa, etc.

i'm curious what would have become of the show had this fandom not existed. it's this type of analyzes/criticism of episodes that i think makes the writers try to strive to do better, to create a stronger more coherent story, regardless if the target demographic is a bit younger than the fandom that sprung up around it.

There are plenty of people who do so even in high rank academia. Marketing strategies, communications, anthropology, simple storytelling. It is just as interesting to analyze a kids show or a mainstream product as it is to analyze some indie item. In fact, most indie items are only really interesting because they themselves analyze and depict the mainstream in one way or another.

I don't think 5 year old girls could appreciate the depth. Sure they'll see pretty colors and will no doubt enjoy the show, but will they have any idea why?

I believe, according to Lauren, the show was originally intended for young ladies to enjoy, but also to be complex enough for their parents to also find entertaining. You wouldn't know it until you've watched it, but most of us around these parts have watched it. If there is a true, original, specific target audience, I'd say preteen to mid-teens looking for something less saccharine than Strawberry Shortcake or Care Bears but not quite so oddly mature, arguably more-for-boys, and (for them) alarmingly odd as Adventure Time.

Five year old girls? Some of the old shows, sure. Bits of the first season of FiM, maybe. But I don't think the girls at the Sesame Street/Dora the Explorer level were the point, even at the beginning of FiM.

Merchandising, though. Kind of all over the place there. There are toys obviously intended for young ladies, then there are collectibles and t-shirts for the older crowd. I for one would appreciate slightly less glittery and/or "stiff" fare, as in, action figures slightly more along the lines of X-Men or Ninja Turtles. Not specifically for boys, but more appealing to the male fans, the less "pretty princess" young ladies, teenagers and even adults like me--Vash the Stampede in the package sitting on my computer desk, Akira motorbike in a nook in my CD tower, legos and Wolverines and GI Joes when I was younger.

No, nothing quite as "mature" as most of that. But figures with more show-accurate expressions, pose-able enough to reference the most awesome actions sequences in FiM. The only reason I can think these haven't been tapped into (or I haven't seen them around) is that Hasbro doesn't trust our fanbase to either buy them, or to not.. exploit them. Eh.

Tangent, sorry. But yeah, I don't see how a 5-year-old anybody could appreciate this on nearly such a hits-home level as what I believe is the true fanbase: Anyone who can watch and appreciate excellent television.

The number one thing I'm going to miss during the hiatus is the reaction/discussion threads, the ones where we all dogpile into one big mess of comments, all at the same time. I get to see people swarm on Durinthal's continuity roundup posts about what really constitutes a call-back, and then we see TheeLinker's emote animations, and then all sorts of other stuff fall out of it, and I feel like I'm a part of it.

I'll miss all of it. Yes, even including the "does this really count as a spoiler?" squabbles and the "when did they add Discord to the opening?" posts.

I'm hesitant to say it's the best season due to season 2's stupidly OP first half, but this is still a really solid season.

Considering it's been 26 episodes, it's nice to see that they haven't hit a new low. Even ignoring Spike at Your Service, every episode in S4 has still been better than the previous low point, Mare-do-Well.

The two weakest episodes I would say are Somepony to Watch Over Me, for really poor storytelling, and Rainbow Falls, for a mix of great and bad concepts and average to bad execution. And even then, I quite enjoyed Rainbow Falls during my first viewing and Somepony to Watch Over Me had some great humour, so the overall enjoyment factor of the season has been consistently average to high.

And while it didn't hit a new low, I'm also happy to say it definetely hit a new high; twice, even.Pinkie Pride was so beautiful that even the most die-hard faustians who hate everything after season 2 liked it abit.And that high point didn't last long, as two weeks later we got Filli Vanilli, which I refuse to explain more succintly than this.
While not as mindboggingly spectacular like these two, Amy Keating Roger's third episode, Testing Testing 1,2,3 also stands in the top tier. Her return this season was a godsend, and she is now by far the most anticipated writer for future episodes.

As for the new writers, opinions are mixed. In the beginning, people seemed pretty happy with them. Every writer debut seemed to be successful, then opinions shifted into saying they suck. However, they were responsible for the majority of episodes, and while on average they may not have been as great as the old writers, all of them got at least something great in.

Josh Haber: Castle Mane-ia, first mane6 episode in a while, pretty smooth humour and execution, though the moral was a flop. He got good morals in Simple Ways and Leap of Faith, though, so he's capable.

Ed Valentine: Right off the bat, Flight to the Finish. The episode's concept was pretty strong to begin with, but he also executed it pretty well to get the most feels. Some very subtle character development for Discord in Three's a Crowd, but that may have been Meghan's part since it ties with the finale.

Natasha Levinger: Pinkie Apple Pie was initially well-received as a break from the action-packed complex episodes preceding it, but opinions somehow shifted into finding it bland. Regardless, it was a great new look at the Apple family, and it had a great ending gag to break the bad trend I will speak of later. She's also responsible for Seabreeze, one of the best one-time characters in the show, and a pretty balanced lesson that stands as the most unique rainbow key moral.

Scott Sonneborn: While his debut stands as the worst episode, I believe that is because it didn't fit his writing style. I did mention it had great humour, and he sure showed that in Trade Ya, where the three plots had lesser importance but a ton of potential for humour. He seems to be the best comedy writer we've had. Because of that, I hope he gets to write more mane6 episodes like that and Castle Mane-ia, and maybe he can improve his characterization/moral handling with time.

Noelle Benvenuti: Only wrote Maud Pie, and that is a very unique episode with a really well-executed character.

Betsy McGowen was only in Power Ponies, which was shared with two others, so I can't tell anything about her.

Regardless of their shortcomings, they added a lot of variety to the writing styles which were getting stale by season 3, and we did see some of their potential. It's most evident for Scott, but I hope to see them develop and be assigned to the episodes they're most suited for.

And I'm also happy to say that we cannot talk about this season without talking about Dave Polksy.
Guy sure made one hell of a comeback, going into the season right after Games Ponies Play, being widely regarded as the weakest writer (after Merriwether "redeemed herself" about four times).

While many were unimpressed by Daring Don't, he went from average to absolutely great in the course of five episodes, and is now regarded as one of the best. I started the season not looking forward to his turns, and now I am eagerly awaiting for more. He's shown himself capable of writing pretty much all the characters really well, with proper dialogue and complex conflicts.
He also gave us our first full-capital GREAT Spike episode, with one of the most complex and well-executed morals in the entire series. He deserves some sort of medal.

Apart from episode quality, one problem this season has over the others would be a bad episode order. There was a high density of action-packed episodes right in the beginning, and three episodes about self-worth in a row. Power Ponies had bad chemistry with other episodes due to Spike actually being a punching bag for the writers. We should really have gotten a Twilight episode, especially Trade Ya, earlier in the season to mitigate the complaints about her lack of appearance. And episode order seems like a fairly easy thing to get right in an episodic show like this.

And then there's the continuity, with both goods and bads.

The two continuous plots, the Equestria Games and rainbow keys, weren't handled quite as well as we expected. But I don't think they were handled poorly either. The Equestria Games was like a bigger version of the Gala, and the rainbow keys provided us with themed morals that had a distinct formula, while still surprising us with unique spins on the formula, plus some great characters as key givers.

Another problem that ties in with bad episode order/chemistry was presenting three fake "cliffhanger" endings that were just ending gags. They came in early season when we were expecting continuity, so naturally we'd think they would lead to something, thus creating expectation that would never be fulfilled.

Coming right after the premiere with the promise of continuity, the shadow pony was just a lame ending. I do not believe he is Tirek, and there is no point in saying it is Tirek because that would add nothing at all to the story.

I don't consider the disappearing comic book to be an intentional cliffhanger ending, just a way to give it closure that fans got worked up about because it came soon after the shadow pony. So no points taken.

Worst of all is Fluttershy's fang. Not only is it an ineffective ending gag because it's not a gag at all, it implies a permanent change in her character. I really, really hope they make it something in season 5 like Adventure Time does, instead of pretending it never happened.

It's more of a complaint about Rarity Takes Manehattan, but its fakeout ending acting like she would stay in Manehattan is amplified for the same reason of expecting continuity.

Transitioning into the better elements of continuity, we got a lot of well-executed callbacks to seasons prior, particularly season 1. And while some things may have been rebooted (Bulk Biceps, Flim-Flam brothers), they stayed solid within the season. Minus Bulk being a Wonderbolt in the finale, WHAT? Derpy also returned to being a strong background presence like in season 2, with lack of speech being a running gag.

I feel that this season's continuity is experimental. Perhaps transitional, as it was for Twilight. Now the mane6 are all rulers, and it will be harder to stick as much to episodes that ignore that. So we've had the Gala-type continuity with episodes that share the theme of an upcoming event, continuity by reusing elements of old seasons, and the season arc continuity which has themed lessons. It may not be so well-executed nor as continuous as we'd hope, but it might be preparing the audience for even more continuity.

The two parters were both really great. The opener had a poorly executed last quarter, but a strong theme and it was the first to really set up a season. Sadly, the season wasn't quite what it had set up.

The finale was even more solid. Again, the season may not have built up to it as much as it could, but it blew away the ceiling just like the Wedding did and closed off the season well, plus giving us a great setup for the next one. It also stands as a good series finale, like all others did.

I just hope the general opinion of it doesn't also turn from "my god this has never been so epic that was the best episode ever this show is awesome" to "meh plotholes worst two-parter" like the wedding seems to have.

Overall, I'd say they pushed the limits. They action was more action-y, the morals were more complex, we got more continuity, we got another musical, the animation improved tremendously and hardly had low points, the soundtrack was in top form, the world expanded, some characters went new ways, the characters are more varied, the epic was epic as buck.

As for personally, the most negative thing for me was the fandom. I hated the constant drama that seemed to come up every episode, and I'm getting a bit sick of watching opinions inexplicably shift from amazement to apathy and disdain. Filli Vanilli almost made me quit interacting entirely. I've had to stop caring about digi/bronycurious and focus on other channels because I don't relate to their apathy at all. Luckily, there's Silver Quill.But besides the negativity, I believe I've just passed my apex of interest in fan content after checking EqD daily for over two years. I might still be here for season 5.And that's it! Thanks to anyone who cared to read through this giant blah that's exactly at post size limit. How about that.

In a few ways it's lackluster, like in breezie lore. The plot may not be too interesting, but I'm used to slice of life and slow paces, so that didn't bother me. The handling of the moral was pretty good and unique by MLP standards, and that's what stood out to me.
I had no idea how they would make Fluttershy have her kindness challenged since she seemed like the one most in tune with her element, to the point of believing in it over her friends in order to reform Discord.

Having her learn when NOT to be so kind was a surprising twist, while also teaching Seabreeze to be kind. It's the one key episode where she learns something from the key character, besides teaching him, thus being the most unique take on the formula.
Seabreeze was a great character, and I do have a soft spot for stories when both sides are just trying to do what they think is right, and end up teaching something to each other. I also like stories where a character seems to be a jerk, but turns out to be a believable person under some tough circumstances. I owe that to Gintama.

I can agree with that!
I only ask because sometimes I like an episode and then come here and read negative comments and then I don't like it anymore. The Breezie episode was definitely one such episode.
It's just nice to hear someone finally express a somewhat positive opinion about it, which is how I originally felt. I really enjoyed your parent comment by the way.

Yeah, that affects me too. Like I said, the lowest point of the season for me was the drama surrounding Filli Vanilli, which I found to be the best episode ever. While none of it changed my opinion, I can hardly rewatch it without being reminded of drama, let alone feeling the same positivity.

It's usually why I try to avoid comments on episodes (except like the finale and stuff but whatever!) I didn't even know there was drama surrounding that episode. The breezies episode just didn't click for me for some reason even before I read the comments so I don't know.

If I recall, in Tommy's follow-up Q&A he mentioned how surprised he was to see the huge drama surrounding Pinkie Pie. Most discussions I've seen about the episode in the following days were entirely about Pinkie, with many people claiming she alone made them hate the episode. There were comics implying she was evil and that it would never happen outside of bad writing. Many analysis videos only talked about Pinkie, and so the rest of the episode was forgotten.
Amy Keating Rogers had to defend her decision on Twitter, and apparently even received death threats.

I thought it was an intresting take on the story how all the characters were justifiable in how they were acting but all went about things the wrong way. Typically the episodes tend to be more black and white with obvious bad guys or people obviously doing something the wrong way. There were a lot of complaints about breezies not wanting to go home but people seemed to not be able to understand that the breezies were scared and wanted to stay safe.

Bronycurious has actually gotten a lot better lately. He seemed to hit a lull in the middle of the season but most of the latter episodes he gave positive reviews of, and the ones he didn't he pretty thoroughly explained why he had a problem.

Fair enough. I personally thought the episode had its great moments, like AJ putting two helmets on Applebloom, her fight with the Chimera, and especially "No time for a song. Applejack's coming!" Plus, I love the CMC and can't get enough of their episodes. I like that we're really starting to see them as individuals.

Ok. While this is up, maybe controversial opinion here. I think that Twilight shouldn't have a kingdom, and that giving it to all her friends as well is a bad idea (well...not how I would have done it).

Because it's obviously a kids show, I'll skip over "Is equestria split? Is Twilight like a mayor of the town?" Obviously, her kingdom is still going to be part of equestria because that's how cartoon logic works. She just has lots of power and duties now.

I think that giving so much to the main characters is a bad idea because it goes against how the show should operate (in my eyes at least, just an opinion). Season 1 was slice of life with random crises scattered throughout. The finale was about a huge event that had been foreshadowed beforehand, but the important thing is that it left the characters roughly in the same place for the next season.

Season 2 ending was good as well, because by the season finale you could see changes in how the characters acted based on the lessons they had learned, plus the plot added new characters, new villains, etc. that could recur later on. But at the base, they were still in the same place as the beginning of S1: learning about friendship and magic, and dealing with the struggles of everyday life. Bullies, self-confidence, honor, keeping a job, etc.

I think progression in a series is a good thing, and adding more characters, sub-plots, and themes as the show progresses gives the opportunity for more stories for the characters to tell. What I think is bad for this show is static progression, or leaving behind the old plots and themes. In other words, as people have complained about before, we aren't going to get as good slice-of-life episodes because the characters are all basically royalty at this point.

They can, and have, brushed over that fact during S4 (like the princess can't catch a taxi joke) but with an entire sparkling fun-set castle...it's going to be harder. Some shows have had royal characters from the start and flourished, but they may be leaving behind the more relatable lessons and stories in place of, well, "more interesting ones."

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of stories to fill next season and I doubt the writers are going to let the show stagnate, but I'm just afraid that they are writing theirselves into a corner. What can top this finale? What happens when the plot progresses so that the characters overcome most of their flaws?

I would rather have it a nice simple show for the kids that teaches important lessons and is funny than the big-shot money-making series that it is starting to look like.

Don't get me wrong, It's still a great show, but I'm starting to think that its heading in a different direction than it should be.

EDIT Wow. I just looked at this wall of text, and I'm thinking "I'm a grown-ass man. What am I doing with my life?" Cool things, people. Cool things

I felt like Spike in that maid outfit when doing the write up for subreddit of the week.
I keep accidentally finding you in the comments of every post. I sometimes think you are actually like 7 people with a shared account controlling everything.

Hmm, I'm thinking the designation of "kingdom" doesn't mean that it is its own country. It's still part of Equestria, under the rule of Celestia and Luna in Cantorlot. I may be spouting nonsense here, but it seems similar to dukes and knights being given land grants as a recognition of their status and achievements.

We see that the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia are foreign dignitaries, so there are such kindoms outside Equestria's jurisdiction as well and such a thing isn't unheard of in their universe.

It is strange though, that Twilight's Kingdom basically consists of her own crystal tree-house-palace, and likely not any part of the surrounding town of Ponyville.

Maybe I missed something, but I didn't really pick up on Twilight acquiring a 'kingdom' in the episode. She's discovered her domain as the Princess of Friendship, but I don't think there are any boundaries or well-defined responsibilities for that role yet. Being Twilight, I'm sure she'll find plenty to do.

She has the authority of a princess, but unlike Celestia and Cadence who are clearly bound to their kingdoms, Twilight's got a lot more freedom in what she does. As Princess of Friendship she rules nothing, but her reach has no borders. Her responsibility isn't ruling a finite landscape and population; it's spreading friendship far and wide. I reckon the castle's just a convenient center of operations (and a powerful symbol) for harmony, friendship, etc.

Well, that is the title of the two-parter, and you have to assume that was the point of the crystal-tree-house-palace--to designate that Princess Twilight is now a full-fledged Princess with a capital 'P' and has been given a "Kingdom", similar to Cadance being given the Crystal Kingdom. Cadance is the Princess of Love and yet Crystal Kingdom has a well-defined boundary. The exact nature of the physical aspect of Twilight's "Kingdom" is unclear, but could be explained come Season 5.

Princesses don't need kingdoms. Cadence didn't have one until the Crystal Empire appeared. Luna, while she does help rule Equestria, seems to be more involved in her own thing at night then the day to day operations.

I agree with you. That she gained a kingdom only after a single season of being a princess is.. not very good?

I mean, she expressed her interest in having more responsibility and she damn well got it, however she hasn't really been princessing for a long time either. I don't think she's ready for it this soon.

Look, I'm not a Season One hipster or purist or whatever, but this... this is exactly why S1 is still my favorite. S2 was also good. Look, I just want some bloody CONTINUITY! If Celly and Luna are supposed to be all-powerful, wise, INTELLIGENT beings, how come they do some of the stupid things they did? Why can Pinkie be so terribly annoying one episode then friendly the next? How come Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty needs a lesson in not abandoning friends every season. I think most of my frustation stems from the apparent stupidity some characters have even though they were not this dumb years ago. /rant

I hate when characters have some inconstantly in how they act. We all know in real life people act the same way all the time and are never effected by their mood, current feelings or outside forces in what they do.

I understand your critique, however I think the writers are smarter than that. I mean, in the finale we had a massive, epic, badass battle where the world was at stake, definitely not slice of life. Yet the lesson, albeit repeated in the series, was simple and relateable, that friendship is the most powerful force in the world. That's something that can be understood by old and young alike, so even if the stories themselves get a bit farfetched, I think the lessons will always be something down to earth and understandable.

Got to say, I was one of those people that was really worried how they'd handle the whole princess thing. While I had full confidence in the show staff's abilities, you can only do so much. If some Hasbro exec came to me and offered to retcon Twi back to unicorn status and to start season 5 as if MMC-Twi's Kingdom never happened I'd probably take it; that said, they handled it extremely well for what it is, and I'm glad.

As with the past seasons, I liked pretty much every episode. Weird Al finally fulfilling all our wishes was fantastic. Luna singing, even if briefly, was great. Discord getting more characterization was a relief, and all the "key" moments were fun, if a bit "Blues Clues-y" after like the third time. It could just be me, but I feel like they tried to actually make Applejack more honest than past seasons, even if she is still too applesapplesapples. Rainbow's still going strong and is probably the character with the most growth, because she's had the most room for it. Finally got Rarity episodes, and some of the stronger Spike ones IMO.

I do wish we got more Twi though. I get that's the point, that she felt under appreciated now, but still, she didn't even do as much of her regular, pre-princess stuff which made me sad. Plus I thought it was kind of obvious she'd be the princess of friendship, thus my comment in the discussion post yesterday that basically boils down to "the same, but with a cool house" (R.I.P. treehouse, btw. I got to admit, I haven't felt so strongly for something irreparably changing on the show since MMC).

Musically, I don't think it was quite as strong. While the vast amount of songs was great, and I liked them all, I feel like it stretched Daniel a but too thin. None of them quite jumped out at me in the same sense as Winter Wrap Up, Smile Smile Smile, Art Of The Dress, At The Gala, This Day Aria, Find A Pet, Love Is In Bloom, etc. the closest were probably Find The Music or Pinkie's Ballad for me. Either way, I hope he gets less songs that are more honed in s5.

I miss how Celestia used to interact with them way more like in season 1. I get that it's supposed to be them growing and not needing her direct guidance as much, but it was a welcome touch.

All in all a great season, a return to form from s3 back to s2 levels, though I think I still prefer s1. Keep it up pony staff! We love you and all you do for us!

I liked this season alot, but i think the one thing i'm disappointed about is that celestia and luna were pretty much absent the entire season. yes luna got an episode, but Celestia only spoke in the opener, and the closer.

overall i still enjoy this season, but truthfully i'd love an episode or 2 a season that gave the princesses some much needed love.

I'm a massive Celestia (aka best pony) fan. I really freakin' want a Celestia episode. Perhaps a decent one explaining why she can't be a real protector of Equestria for ****? Luna's good, but she feels wooden (Celly does too). Right now they're just plot devices for when it's convenient. No one character type pisses me off more than the "I have plans for you, but damned if I'm going to tell them to you." Having two of them is just awful.

My head canon is that Celestia is trying to prepare Equestria for a day where she & Luna won't be able to protect them. That's why she's constantly pushing the message of friendship & cooperation, as well as not solving every crisis herself: she's pushing ponies to depend on each other instead of one powerful being.

That's not just head canon, that's actual canon. Every premier and finale has pretty much been the mane 6 saving the day because Celestia and Luna were unable to do it themselves. This isn't planning for some future event. This is teaching through the experience of present and past events.

Every season of the series had a few really good episodes everyone remembers, a few bad ones nobody talks about, and a lot of good-ish to meh episodes where people only remember a few memorable scenes.

I think that the biggest problem with Season 3 is that since it was only 13 episodes it had fewer really good ones (Magic Duel and Just For Sidekicks for me, and Sleepless In Ponyville and Too Many Pinkie Pies according to many other people), while the rest of the season was meh-tier.

Season 4 had a few really bad episodes (the one with the Breezies is the worst in the series IMO) and roughly the same proportion of good to bad to meh ones, but since there were more episodes overall there are more memorable moments and the season seemed better.

The thing with those two episodes is that she isn't over the top annoying, except in Pinkie Pride where she is suppose to be over the top and realizes it. Pinkie Pie is good when she is a little zany, a little random, but she has to be used smartly, not over done.

They made Pinkie Pie too random this season, and also oddly cruel. Despite being the embodiment of Laughter, she purposely made ponies cry and feel bad, including traumatizing poor Fluttershy multiple times in one episode.

I feel like there was a lot that got glossed over with Pinkie Pie. In previous seasons, she always has a reason for her eccentricity. This season, they just made her random. It felt more like other shows with "random" characters, not like method in the madness displayed in the first season at all.

There was also a lot more "Opening statement in the episode about something we just made up but we're acting like this has been a thing all along" moments.

Some good moments this season and even some amazing ones, but those things really caught me off guard.

Rainbow Dash has progressed from a simple Wonderbolt fan, to Wonderbolt Academy recruit, to quite likely becoming a Wonderbolt Reserve. Her dreams have progressed so far since day one, and that is heartwarming. Derpy made her return to the season with a bang, and kept popping up afterward. She was made part of the Ponyville Equestria Games team, so she appeared during those episodes too. Those who were worried about Derpy can finally rest easy. Rarity finally got her due, receiving at least three episodes since Season Two. Meghan promised she would be getting a good number of episodes, and she delivered.

Danial and Steffan did a wonderful job with the music this season. There were a decent number of vocal songs, a couple were quite memorable, and the background music was soothing with old tunes and new ones.

The stories were really good this season, the new writers are great and I can't wait to see new episodes from them. Especially Josh, damn he was good. The progression of characters has been a nice thing to witness.

I mean, they did so much right that I find it hard to think of many things to write about. I believe the entire fandom can agree this season was superior to Three in every way (except "Sleepless in Ponyville"). I hope with Season Five they manage to continue their amazing progress.

Now, I can remember my complaints about the season though.

This season was given a "season long story-arc", as Meghan called it. The box. I think the majority of the fandom could agree this arc was fairly understated, and disappointing. Only a small portion of the episodes in the series had a link to the story, and it was mostly the ending scene of five specific episodes. With the way Meghan posted about this arc, one might have expected something a little more out in the open and more explored. - However, I'll state that for a first attempt it wasn't too bad. With Season Five, they might attempt something with a little less subtlety!

The Equestria Games arc, on the other hand, felt quite right. Perhaps because it was a causal story, not important to a very crucial change in the series, that it worked out better. There were four or five episodes in total dedicated to it, and each one was obviously building up towards the sports event. My personal complaint was the last episode though; in this episode, the games were the insignificant part of the episode. It was all about Spike's self-esteem. I feel like it should have pertained more to the games. The ponies competing, winning, losing, sportsmanship! I wrote a longer piece about the story arcs here.

This was the season that was suppose to answer questions about alicorn-princess Twilight, and I think they failed to tell me it was a necessary change. Throughout this season, both of these portions were very insignificant. In "Twilight Time", "Trade Ya", and "Equestria Games", her princess-title was given some perspective. In a couple episodes, like "Rainbow Falls", her alicorn/wings were given some perspective. None of it was significant though. It feels like they just took Twilight, and slapped on wings and a crown. With the finale, however, they take it to a different level and leave you with the idea that next Season it will mean more. Unfortunately, I still think overall it was a pretty insignificant thing. Don't get me started on the wings.

I'm curious what goes through the minds of a writer when it comes to Princess Celestia at this point. I remember back in Season One Celestia made random appearances for various reasons (see her student, infestations, loves the running of the leaves, etc). This Season she only had one appearance outside of the premiere, and she didn't even say anything. That was a huge disappointing tragedy to me. Did they just forget about her or something? Give her an episode already guys! She was fun in the finale, but it didn't make up for it. - Come on, Season Five! Be the one that finally rewards her with an episode!

I'm not happy that the Elements of Harmony were replaced with Rainbow Power. Yes, it is an extension of it, however the design is so ugly it's intolerable. Obviously this was done for marketing, toys, and corporate reasons, so that is the "why." Regardless, there was so little we knew about the Elements, and now they're gone for good. I'm not looking forward to seeing Rainbow Power again.

I think what pissed me off most was that Sweetie Belle learned to use magic (not this part, I felt so happy for her), but Scootaloo was made a fool. She tried so damn hard to learn, but they left her in the dirt. It wasn't a yes, or even a no. It was a MAYBE. That irritated me so much, haha. I just want her to fly, I don't care if it was Faust's original plan or if its a widely-accepted headcanon.

To add on to this, I wasn't very pleased with the possibilities they slashed during episodes. Rarity could have lived in Manehatten for a few weeks for a very important job, instead she gave it to Coco (generous, sure, but still). Pinkie Pie had the opportunity to be related to the Apple Family, and while it was somewhat hinted that she might be, they intentionally left it unanswered. I wish they would at least set a few things in concrete, we don't need to make up everything ourselves. - It isn't like the show to do this, I know. But it would be nice to see some more hard-changes that weren't just for Twilight.

Perhaps I don't like change, but the destruction of Twilight's tree-library really hit me hard. There were a lot of memories in that house, four seasons worth, and they just destroy it. That didn't have to happen, she could have received a castle and not destroyed the tree. Hell, the castle could have been built AROUND the tree/the tree would be inside it.

There were a number of disappointments, but not many! These are just personal complaints, a few of which were just little grumble-grumble type issues. The season was outstanding, even with the issues I had with it. I was not disappointed with the overall season

Perhaps I don't like change, but the destruction of Twilight's tree-library really hit me hard.

Destroying something with history is the only way to really emphasise that a change is taking place. Like the death of main characters in a long-running series (Game of Thrones) you need to be shocked in order for it to have any impact.

No, it doesn't. That's not what I said. She isn't confirmed to be a handicapped pegasus, only that she hasn't learned to fly yet.

The point was that Sweetie Belle had some bumps before she learned to control her magic (all within a single episode), but Scootaloo received an entire sequence showing off her inability to learn within a quick period, it was painful to watch, and they leave her grounded.

They made a fool out of her/made her look foolish (a joke, etc.), not "she's a fool because she can't physically do something." But unlike Sweetie, Scootaloo didn't learn her race-specific ability.

Overall I thought that this was a pretty good season, with only a few episodes that I didn't like.

Episodes I didn't like

Simple Ways- I felt that this episode was just a bit too cringe worthy for me to enjoy it. Rarity trying to act all "country" to gain the affections of Trenderhoof made me cringe hard. I also don't like how to entire episode was pretty much focused on Rarity crushing on Trenderhoof. I can handle stuff like that when it is a subplot (like it was in "The Best Night Ever"), but not when the whole episode it devoted to it. Just doesn't do it for me.

Equestria Games - This one wasn't really bad, it was more disappointing than anything. You first hear about the Equestria Games towards the end of season 3 and when you finally get to it, very little of the games is shown to us (2 events actually), and most of the episode is about Spike. Nothing against Spike, I was just expecting something grander for this episode.

Episodes I liked

Pinkie Pride-One of the better uses of a guest star in the television I have seen. If Weird Al were a pony, Cheese Sandwich would definitely be him. I also thought this was one of the better Pinkie Pie episodes in the series, because we get to dig deeper into Pinkie's character.

Flight to the Finish - I thought the parts with Rainbow Dash trying to act professional were hilarious, and I loved the storyline dealing with Scootaloo's lack of flying ability. I thought that that storyline was done very maturely dealing with either being a late-bloomer or being disabled (depending on if Scootaloo ever does fly in the future).

I honestly expected the Equestria Games to come out during the Winter Olympics (so like, the beginning of the season), because relevance. But no, it wasn't until the end of the season, and then it was reduced to a stupid Spike episode?! I can't help but feel kind of ripped off after all the buildup towards it. They could've done SO much more!

I don't know why so many people hate Rainbow Falls... I thought it was a good episode. ._. ...And Bulk Biceps! How could anybody hate him?! He's the best pony in the whole show!

And my least favorite episode was Filli Vanilli... the song was great, but Pinkie Pie tormenting Fluttershy, intentionally or not, completely soured the episode and Pinkie for me.

This was the first season I watched as it was shown, and it was exciting. My favorite episode is Rarity Takes Manehattan, but the best episode overall is without a doubt Pinkie Pride. This season had a lot of good moments with Luna, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle, and it introduced a ton of new minor characters and background ponies.

I was expecting to see Trixie somewhere along the line, but the return of the Flim Flam Brothers made up for that.

It's certainly one I'll remember for a long time, all the heartwarming bits, little details that will make your heart break, and outrageously funny moments that will make your funny bone feel like it's being tickled nonstop.

I see no problems with this season, other than using up the song quota for the first half. Other than that it was a fabulous season.

A lot more well, mature than I was expecting. We had ponies crying over the presumed dead, "crushing" Angel(Which was hilariously dark), dealing with handicaps, sibling jealously(Which had a bigger consequence than last time), frauds selling fake tonic, trading away ponies, and etc. (Don't get me started on an ancient monster sucking out a pony's soul)

I liked that, they took it places I didn't expect and it really worked out for them. That's why I love this show I guess, it's always got something up it's sleeve to keep you entertained, even if it doesn't make sense.

I do agree with the consensus that Season 4 was an amazing improvement over the worrying outlook after Season 3. This show had a lot of freedom after surviving the 65 episodes limit, and that's what, I suspect, allowed the show's writers to pursue some ideas that would not have flied before.

I've seen complaints that the show should have gone with the Tree of Harmony Arc as Twilight's path to ascension instead of what happened in Magical Mystery Cure, but I disagree. Cadance herself had become an Alicorn ever since the events of the Crystal Heart Spell (book), but didn't receive Crystal Kingdom until much, much later. Twilight's story is basically a parallel.

Looking at the show as a whole so far, I still think about how the various significant events could be arranged to tell a more solid story. There probably could have been more lead up to Magical Mystery Cure, and possibly have the Equestria Games Arc be contained entirely in Season 5 to make room for it. The show probably had no such plans for multi-episodes arcs in Seasons 1 and 2, but if they did, bits and pieces foreshadowing these events could probably have been inserted so that the ascension didn't have to be rushed like some think it was.

Right. All's been said that's been said. I'll mention one very very very important thing that has been becoming an issue, starting to take full shape this season.

There may be trouble in S5 if the new writers treat their work like they do now. Yeah, yeah, they may be doing decent plots and everything, but very often it is painfully obvious that they have no idea what the characters are supposed to be like. Or worse - they think that it's perfectly fine to sacrifice character consistency for a joke, one which very rarely works. We already had some writers who loved doing that, giving their episodes enormous dents in watchability - one of them I swear has written half this bloody season - but the new ones are almost one in this issue. I honestly don't want to see something as idiotically preposterous as that heartworming scene in the Ponytones episode (one should really understand what I mean), or... I won't go on. Something tells me that I will eventually boil it down to how Pinkie Pie is the devil. Again. People don't like that.

Overall, I think Season 4 was an improvement over Season 3. After Season 3's finale, there were a lot of questions that were waiting to be answered, and everyone was wondering what was going to happen next. While Season 4 did have its faults which I'll get to a minute, I'll start with what I did like:

What I liked:

One of the biggest fears people had after Season 3's finale was Twilight was going to overtake center stage compared to the rest of the Mane 6 with her new status. Thankfully that didn't happen and instead got focus on the rest of the Mane 6.

The visuals have improved by leaps and bounds since the series first started airing. In fact, I think Season 4 has some of the best visuals to date.

The idea of the Mane 6 keeping a diary to write down their lessons learned was a clever idea since the friendship letters aren't used anymore (which I do miss). It shows that the characters are still learning lessons along the way and that aspects of the series hasn't gone away.

The new writers made some great debuts. Josh Haber's Castle Mane-ia was one of the funniest episodes so far and Noelle Benvenuti introduced what I think was one of the best new characters, Maud Pie. Speaking of writers, I have to give a lot of credit to Dave Polsky for making a huge improvement after the disappointment that was "Games Ponies Play".

I like how they explored Manehanttan more. We've seen it mentioned before, but never fully looked at and I hope we get to see even more places around Equestria in Season 5.

I loved what they did with the returning characters, especially with Discord. He's evolved from a one-off villain to a great supporting character even though he still has that trickster personality in him. Props to John De Lancie for the great performance he gave throughout the season.

Weird Al making a guest appearance was a nice surprise. I remember the fanmade videos mixing his songs with clips from the show and people wishing he'd make an appearance. Cheese Sandwich was a perfect Pony-fication of him and made for one of the best episodes of the series so far.

Derpy's comeback was a welcome surprise. After the previous Derpy fiasco, it was thought she was going to be gone for good, and even though she doesn't say anything, perhaps it's better that way.

This is more of a personal opinion, but I'm to hear both Discord and Luna finally sing. I've been wanting to hear these two characters sing at least one song.

Finally, Twilight's battle with Tirek was the most intense battle in the show yet! The writers were clearly trying to push the envelope as much as they could and I applaud them for that.

What I didn't like:

While I'm glad that Twilight's status as a Princess didn't overtake center stage, I felt that her new status wasn't explored enough. While the biggest exploration of it came from both the season's opening and finale, most of the most she was pushed aside while being that character to help guide the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike along way. I felt there was a lot of missed opportunities for her to learn lessons about leadership.

The idea of a story arc was a good one, but it was poorly executed. We barely got any mention about the keys or the box until the finale. I know that hints were dropped here and there, but I wished it was explored more.

Both Celestia and Luna barely did anything this season. There's so many opportunities that could be worked from them, but instead for the most part whenever they appeared, they mostly just sat around and did nothing.

I hated the Spike abuse. It wasn't until we got towards the end of the season that he was finally treated with some respect. For the most part, save for Power Ponies, it felt like he was being treated as either the punching bag or the comic relief character.

After all the build up to the Equestria Games, the delivery of how the games themselves were shown was weak since it mainly turned out to be a Spike-based episode, how he made a fool out of himself, and how it was corrected rather than giving more focus to the actual events.

Finally, I'm going to miss The Golden Oaks Library. Seeing something that's been a staple of the show since the beginning completely lost is a pretty big hit. I think this clearly shows the end of one era of the series and signaling the beginning of another.

One Last Observation:

It's very clear that the series has grown up over the years. Having gone back and watching Season 1, it felt a lot more educational and geared towards a younger audience (obviously since it had an E/I label at the time) while later episodes felt more adventure-like with slice-of-lifes episodes thrown in and gears towards a slightly older audience.

The characters have grown up as well. Twilight has mellowed out and not freaking out as much as shown in Twilight Time, Rainbow is less brash and doesn't seem to have as big of an ego since she easily accepted the results in the Equestria Games instead of trying to be number 1 at everything. Even the CMC have grown up by not obsessing on how to get their cutie marks as much and more focusing on their personal developments.

I see this as a good thing though and I'm glad to see the series growing up with its audience since it would be very boring if it continued with the same style over and over again.

All in all, despite its flaws, I have to give everyone who worked on Season 4 props for a job well done and I'm looking forward to seeing how Season 5 will turn out.

The amazing thing about this season was them showing off Manehatten, we get to see a bit more of the Crystal Empire and in the finale we get a revisit to Appleloosa. Having said that the map they showed at the end is a lot bigger and I would absolutely love a few new places to explore or see and of course a return to Cloudsdale only this time with a better budget for animation. Overall was a good season, better than the 3rd in my opinion.

I'd characterize season 4 as a season of extremes. There were stupidly good episodes like Pinkie Pride, Maud Pie, and Filli Vanilli which strike me as the best the series has ever offered, and there were stupidly bad episodes like It Ain't Easy Being Breezy and Twilight Time which rivaled Mysterious Mare Do Well in mediocrity. Naturally though the good episodes are more memorable than the bad ones so the season feels good over all.

My biggest concern going forward to season 5 is the progression of Twilight's character. Twilight spent most of season 4 acting as a motherly voice of reason. That role is way too much like Celestia though and I found it kinda boring. I really miss the neurotic Twilight from Lesson Zero and It's About Time.

It has some of my favorite moments of mlp. For example Rarity acting in Simple ways, Twilights eating in Twilight Time and also Sweetie Belle going evil in For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils. It's my favorite season, I say tied with season 2.

Overall, this was quite a strong season. There were some episodes that I never, EVER want to watch again (Breezies, just breezies) but the majority ranged from good to "Oh god, this is one of the most awesome things I have seen". So yeah, loved this season.
Favourite episode: Twilight's Kingdom.

This is the first season I watched while it was still active (I became a brony earlier this year) and I had to say that is a good way to start.

Season 4 set really high standards, so season 5 has some high expectations to meet.

God damn, I hate the wait though, this is my first wait. I finished season 1-3 in one or two weeks and then season 4 aired a few weeks after I finished catching up. But, I don't know how I will make this wait.

Oh well, atleast this isn't the end and Rainbow Rocks is coming up soon!

I had a pretty hard time getting interested in Season 4, after how lackluster S3 was. This season turned out really well though, and exceeded my expectations. Mostly great episodes, a few that I didn't care for (Pinkie Pride, Maud Pie, Somepony to watch over me). But really great overall. And the finale, wow.

Season 1 was pretty good. Season 2 was AMAZING. Season 3 was 'meh'. (Someone is going to kill me for saying this, but Magical Mystery Cure was one of the best episodes they have made.) Season 4 was all over. Episodes like Maud Pie and Pinkie Pride were outstanding, but episodes like It Aint Easy Being Breezies dragged it down. Season 3 was the only one worse than Season 4.

But I think we can all agree that this hiatus is going to kill us all.

My favorite episodes this season were Filli Vanilli and Maud Pie. They're probably even my favorites in the entire series. The reason why I like Filli Vanilli is that, as a writer, the song struck a chord with me. Even though I don't do music, I do like to write, and when you get into a groove, it's almost like you're writing down a beat and rhythm to a song in your head. While I did like the actual story, since I was impressed by the poison joke reference, I was more impressed by Big Mac this episode. To me, aside from it applying to Fluttershy, it applied more so to Big Mac as well. To me, I see Big Mac now as more of an intellectual when he's not at work. I think he has a lot to say often, but he just can't say it all, until he finds the music. Then he becomes expressive and happy when he sings.

As for Maud Pie, I'm a big fan of it for more personal reasons. When it came out, I had a best friend who I had recently stopped talking to because she just began to ignore me one day. Our relationship was akin to that of Pinkie and Maud's, where she was the excited, extroverted, friendly, party animal and I was the silent book worm that didn't have much to say in a big crowd of people. When the episode came out, I was feeling very depressed with myself and I didn't want to do much. When I saw it, however, I felt uplifted even. It made me happy to see the two sisters resolve their issues, and it made me happy to see Maud be happy with the way she is. She never changed her personality for the sake of other people, and as someone who relates strongly to her, I find that admirable as hell. This episode is the reason why I like Maud the most. She is just so fascinating and I understand why she'd be the way she is.

My least favorite episode was Rainbow Falls by far. I hate that episode. It felt as if the writer thought I was stupid. That plot was contrivance after contrivance for a botched up moral at the end. With Rarity being my second favorite not by much, I honestly could not believe they'd purposely make her create the ugliest clothing for the race for the sake of making rainbow look like an underdog, for example. They wanted her to look so much like the underdog that they made everyone else look like a dumb ass

The season surpassed them as a whole towards the beginning. The last half got kinda boring for me after Filli Vanilli until the final episodes

I don't think I can say it's the best season of them all. As a whole I think I still like Season 2 better, but it's definitely progressing as a show.

Visually, it's built from a solid foundation and just keeps getting better. And though it still has a ways to go in my opinion, it is getting better in telling longer stories.
Hopefully we're heading into Season 5 the way a lot assumed Season 4 would be. With lots of new possibilities, maybe even a whole new direction.

I really liked the whole season, pretty much, but the last episode was the only one that made me legitimately accept Twilight's role as a princess. "Princess of Friendship" is kind of hokey still, but I feel like it's justified now by her struggles. And I like that they end on the note of "your role as a princess is what you make it" (especially considering the Season 3 Finale's uncharacteristic and uncalled for emphasis on DESTINY).

Honestly, I am totally up for having a little more opportunities for adventure plots thrown in now and again. Slice-of-life is fun, but it's about time we get more adventures and quests and arcs out of the show. I mean, that's where the show's vision was with Lauren, after all. That's the kind of attitude that sold me on it in the first place.

I personally think that rarity should have been the evil villain for the ending of the season. I mean we all saw her in episode 23 where she gets corrupted by the spell book. It would have been a true test of friendship to save her from the darkness and bring her back. She got really bad by the end of the episode and I wish they would have branched that off to a 2 part season finale. She would have dove further into power but I still loved the way they did it.

Or Twilight. They mentioned in the finale that her need for a greater purpose was similar to Luna's before she became nightmare moon.
I'd love to see Twilight take a similar path.
How do you combat a friend AND a princess?

I kinda don't want to say this but I think Laura Faust not being involved in this season at all has greatly improved the episodes that were created. I think she needed to set the base but now that her job is done and she set the base the creativity has been allowed to flourish and create what I think has been the best.

My favorite episodes would have to be Pinkie Pride ("Weird Al" episode), Pinkie Apple Pie (dat song...can't decide which is better, "Apples to the Core" or "Raise This Barn"), and Castle Mane-ia (So...many...horror/mystery references).

I've got something in my head regarding the last four seasons, and what we might could expect in Season 5, but that'll be for another post, once I can write it all down and get some edits done. Warning: It will be loooooooooong.

I appreciate all the discussion, the pros and cons, highs and lows. Seeing all this as I am finally starting the fourth season, I realize one thing.

I am happy I am just now watching it. The first season I didn't see until the second season was about to air. Sure, I thought it was fantastic, and probably would have watched it had I caught the show the first day the very first episode was on television. But being able to watch all 26 episodes in the span of a weekend hooked me like no other.

I watched the second season as it was released, as with the third. I had thoughts on which episodes were better, oddly strong thoughts about how badly season 3 could bode for the series if it went unchecked.

Anyway, long story long, I am happy I have waited to watch season 4 until it was completed. I do not have to wait a week or more to see if the next episode is as good as the previous one. The last one I watched was Power Ponies (going in order), and sure, as usual, the CMC made me feel awkward in their episode (I know they're fillies but... kids can be so alarmingly braindead... ouch), but I have not disliked an episode so far. I actually really liked Daring Don't, even, which I've seen seems to have underwhelmed a portion of the fanbase(?). The Indiana Jones/ J.K. Rowling/Harry Potter fanbase/(meta) My Little Pony fanbase, etc. references felt just so good in my head, having been a huge fan of both FiM and Harry Potter, and the old Indy trilogy being among my favorites.

Honestly I need to stop writing and go somewhere. Else I could go on and on about nothing until Luna pulls up the moon.

Anyway TL;DR, This show is (mostly) excellent either way, but waiting until the season is over and watching it at your own pace is like special edition brain candy.

Not sure anyone's reading here still, but I'll post this. Was anyone else scared to watch new episodes this season? After the catastrophe that was the second half of season 3, I was really worried with each episode that something was going to be bad. I was happy to find that most of the season was excellent, if not at least decent, but it was a feeling that lasted the whole season through.

I also found myself displeased with all the "action" that happened this season. I like what they did with some of the episodes, but I don't feel like I'm watching the same show. And that was a fairly bad thing for me. I feel like they're overusing it. As a show that started out all about friendship lessons and character interaction, moments of action were a rare occasion that helped build the universe and add something new. Now it just seems like a thing they add in because it seems like it would be fun to watch.

Ahdunno. Overall I really liked this season, but I really felt like I was watching a whole different show.

I'll answer the questions in a different section just to break things up.

Favorite Episode?

Pinkie Apple Pie was probably my favorite episode of the season. It reminded me of season 1, had its own unique season 4 taste, and had my favorite song of the season to boot. Castlemania, For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils, and Trade Ya! were some of my other favorites.

Did the season live up to your expectations?

Not exactly, as explained in my first section, but I still very much enjoyed it. Season 2 remains to be my favorite season, and season 3 my least favorite, but I'm not sure how I would rank this season to season 1.

Episodes 1&2: Princess TS They explored some of the issues Twilight suffered during EQG. She is uncomfortable with being a Princess and not sure she deserves it. We got more Discord, which is always welcome. We also got some excellent flashbacks to Discord and Luna transforming into Nighmare Moon. Who can forget TwiCane. (I wish I could, I joke, but that was run into the ground fast.) Overall a solid season premiere.

Episode 3-Castle Mane-ia: The first episode from new MLP writer Josh Haber. Overall a pretty funny episode. It was a little too convenient that the mane 6 all just happened to wind up at the castle of the 2 sisters. But it is a cartoon, so I can forgive that. I also could see it was Pinkie playing the organ from a mile away. But overall it was still a solid episode.

Episode 4-Daring Don't:: The return of Daring Do. I think I prefer Daring Do as a fictional character than an actual character. Her being a real character just raises a bunch of questions as to why she is out saving the world instead of Celestia etc. But other than that it was a decent episode, and watching Rainbow Dash fangirling over Daring Do, like many over us do over MLP was hilarious.

Episode 5-Flight to the Finish: The first CMC episode of the season and the first episode by new MLP writer Ed Valentine. With his first episode Ed Valentine knocked it out of the park. We got to see more character development for Scootaloo, probably the least developed character out of the mane characters. They covered her disability as an actual thing, and not just a fandom joke. Plus another excellent CMC song. (This also marks the debut of Claire singing for Sweetie Belle instead of Michelle Creber.) A solid episode.

Episode 6-Power Ponies: A Spike episode, so that is usually a strike against it. I don't dislike Spike, but his episodes tend to be the worst. (My least favorite episode is Owl's Well that Ends Well, but that is more because I don't care for Owlowicious.) This episode was alright, not the best, but I did enjoy seeing the Power Ponies, and Mane-iac. The premise of the magic comic book seemed a little forced, but again it is a cartoon so I'll give it a break.

Episode 7-Bats!: A strange episode, I did like the song. The rest was entertaining but I still don't quite get the ending with the tooth.

Episode 8-Rarity Takes Manhattan!: I am probably in the minority, but the episode was kind of meh for me. I did like Coco as a character, and the song was alright, not one of the better ones in my opinion.

Episode 9-Pinkie Apple Pie: I really enjoyed this episode, lots of great comedy. Also Apples to the Core is as catchy as they come.

Episode 10-Rainbow Falls: A decent episode, not the greatest not the worst. We got to see the return of everyone favorite gray mare.

Episode 11-Three's A Crowd: Another Discord episode. Discord trolling the Princesses. And who can forget the Discord song, Glass of Water. I really enjoyed this episode.

Episode 13-Simple Ways: Applejack and Rarity make a great comedy duel. They are polar opposites which is always a great setup for comedy. Having said that, it wasn't one my favorite episodes.

Episode 14-Filli Vanilli: Return of Flutterguy. I enjoyed this episode quite a bit, mostly because the Music in you tune is so catchy.

Episode 15-Twilight Time: Another CMC episode. Pretty decent episode, not the best, not the worst

Episode 16-It Aint Easy Being Breezies: Well this episode was weird. The introduction of the breezies, and then them all turning into breezies at the end. Probably my least favorite episode of the season.

Episode 17-Somepony to Watch Over Me: More Apple family and Applejack/Apple Bloom bonding. I really enjoyed this episode, and loved it when Applejack kept putting helmets on Apple Bloom's head

Episode 18-Maud Pie: Another new writer for the show Noelle Benvenuti. She knocked it out of the park. I really liked Maud and her exuberance.

Episode 19-For Whom the Sweetie Belle Tolls: Another sister bonging episode with Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Luna returns in her roll as dream keeper or whatever. I am not a huge fan of this episode, but it wasn't terrible.

Episode 20-Leap of Faith: The Flim Flam brothers return to swindle Ponyville again with the help of Honest Applejack. I liked it, and wonder if F&F will return.

Episode 21-Testing Testing 1,2,3: Rainbow Dash has to take a test to get into the Wonderbolts Reserves. Having taken many Airforce tests, I don't envy her, they are stupidly hard. Lots of interaction between Twilight and Dash. Awesome episode AKR.

Episode 22-Trade Ya: Funny episode starring the Mane 6. Dash learns friendship is more valuable than any book. Probably rank it in the top half of Season 4.

Episode 24-Equestria Games: Another Spike episode. For a Spike episode, this one aint bad.

Episode 25&26-Twilight's Kingdom: Well the finale rocked. We had a Luna/princess song, more Discord, and the return of Tirek from Midnight Castle. This season finale was epic comparable with A Canterlot Wedding. I liked it anyway.

I will probably not be returning to watch season 5. I feel like this is the best we are going to get as far as a true ending to this show. The only thing they could do know is run it into the ground, a la Battlestar Galactica. It is time to stop watching before I grow to be disappointed.

What more could the Mane 6 really learn? They've already reached Super Friendship Level 2. There just isn't much more that they can do that won't feel samey or "episode of the week". Even a new villain would just feel uninteresting. We have seen that the mane 6 can take on the entire collected power of all the beings of Equestria and the four princesses, any new villain (that doesn't come from within, which would never happen in a show with this demographic) would just be be lame or be given power because of some contrived reason.

So unless I am given a giant recommendation from a friend, I don't see a reason to return to season 5. I really like the show where it is, where it has ended, and going further just wouldn't feel like as interesting of a journey.

The only thing they can do after the Season 4 finale is de-power Twilight Sparkle. Even the writers of Superman realize that he has to be depowered now and then to keep the story going. Once the hero attains ultimate power, their story is supposed to end. If you don't want the story to end, you have to give the hero a handicap.

I predict that by the end of Season 5, Twilight will be living in the Ponyville library again (which will be a new playset from Hasbro) and will have gone through a new useless transformation to sell more toy variations (maybe 'sequined', or 'plaid'! ;) ) She might no longer be an alicorn. That's about the only way to keep the series running.

I agree with the first part completely and it is one of the reasons I find Superman to be such a dull character. Eventually the power creep causes your hero to be too strong and no threat will exist to stop them.

I disagree. Twilight has always been powerful enough in theory to deal with a whole host of problems, but the show has had no issue finding stories for her despite this, largely because the challenges the characters face are typically not things that can be solved through the application of power, but are relational. And while I think season 4 did fail to really tell a lot of good Twilight stories, and let her political status sort of put her above the conflict and the sphere of relatability, I think that this is also something that they can avoid doing, if they really work at it, without actually lowering her status.

I don't see how. I can name a few movies and television shows that have a specific point where you really should just stop watching because it creates a better overall story. Battlestar Galactica should have finished after the first half of season 4 (or after they landed on New Caprica). Death Note should end after... well the big event. I am Legend should end after he drives off the pier and the Matrix should have been the only movie in the series.

When you look at the narrative of MLP as a whole, when you look at all four series together, this episode runs through all the tropes of the traditional show ender. We wrapped up Discord's arc, Twilight has come into her role, the side-5 have all learned so much about their element that they became the teacher, etc.

I just feel like any episode after this is sort of a part 2 to the series as a whole, a whole new arc because all previous arcs have been closed. And if they take the show in a new direction and focus on other characters, I might consider watching season 5. But as it is, that ending worked so well as a show stopper, that I'd like to preserve it as such.

You can add Dexter to that list, also Prison Break, also possibly House MD. But even then, it was still fun watching them. Even though I disliked the next 2 Matrix movies, that doesn't mean that the first one was ruined for me.

It would take some drastic fuckuppery to spoil the previous seasons for me... Until that time comes, I have to give the writers, editors, voice actors and the animators a fighting chance instead of dismissing them outright.

If you were to draw a neat picture for me, I would be pretty much a dick if I were to say to you "That's great! I love it! But the next one... oh, the next one will probably suck... I need someone else's recommendation to see it first.".

I'm not mad or especially judgmental, and I can see where you're coming from, but I don't accept your reasons as... well... reasonable. Especially after the staff managed to pull themselves out from the S3 rut (which wasn't even that bad in itself, imho).

(I made this as a reply because I feel it is a separate, though tied in, discussion and I wanted any replies to be tied to the correct idea.)

Now, all this being said, I feel like what the show should do next is move away from the Mane 6 and put them more as support roles for a new set of characters. Now, way back in season 1 I thought the CMC episodes were awful and hated them. But Season 4 did amazing things with them and I feel there is still growth there. If you were to put focus only on the CMC with the Mane 6 as support roles, it would open up a variety of new and interesting things for them to do. Life lessons that you would have trouble tackling with the Mane 6 would work great with the CMC:

Disability of Scootaloo and her lack of an older sibling could be expanded on

The introduction of a new member to the group that changes the dynamic

Redeeming Spoon/Tiara

One of them gets their mark, how does this affect them as friends.

The problem I find right now with having the Mane 6 return is that their lessons are starting to get repetitive. They often learn things they already learned in a previous episode. Eventually you will run out of material. However, with a new cast, especially ones going through the "puberty" stage of life, you create a whole new list of problems that could be tackled in a fresh and interesting way.

At first I was all like "Oh it's one of these kinda guys, huh." and on second though I kinda agree with you. The current main cast have accumulated, together, something like 85 lessons on friendship. I mean I'm sure there's still enough to be "learnt" for it to continue, but the lessons are beginning to wear thin and with the finale, it kinda feels like becoming the princess of friendship is like literally the ultimate goal of Twilight, finally being met.

I too would like to see some development of the CMC, though, I can't say I'd like to see them as the main characters exclusively with just supporting roles from the six. Perhaps introducing entirely new characters is a good idea. I mean, they've covered nearly all the aspects of interacting with friends, but there has been very little material (aside from the premiere) about new friends and interaction with people who aren't yet friends. I would be 100% OK with the introduction of New Characters altogether. Though I suppose, from a logistical point of view, getting new voice actors is not really optimal. And the old ones wouldn't get as much work, or perhaps they might, depending on how they would handle this, but either way it'd be a big change for the series and could be costly and ultimately might not pay off.

I'm still gonna watch Season 5, and following seasons up until I feel it's gone down the tube, cause honestly, ponies. But I agree with you that this finale felt like resolution and that the show would do well to work on the other characters it's introduced and new ones it hasn't.

Even though I understand where you are coming from, I have to disagree that the show, or the lessons, have become repetitive as of yet. Also, the show seems to have been moving away from its original format of having a friendship lesson at the end of every episode, and has instead been creeping toward story driven plots since the start of season 3. If anything, the show is becoming more full and in depth as a result of this.

There is still a lot the producers can do with the mane six as well, even twilight. They have already dipped into the new dynamics that princesshood has brought twilight, both with her friends and others. Personally, I would really enjoy seeing an episode or two fleshing out the world and expanding on the already great world that already exists.

I agree the formula will need to change, or Twilight's ascension will be rendered pointless. It was already kinda pointless this season, but justified in that Twilight herself was searching for her purpose as a princess. With season 4's finale it seems she's finally found her place, so I hope they won't try to ignore this character development in order to preserve the status quo.
If they do decide to change things up, there are many directions they could take the show. As can be seen by the frankly massive assortment of fan material, there's a huge amount of content the show has hinted at but barely covered. Backstories, side-stories, side-characters, one-off characters, antagonists, different races, different settings, history, magic, monsters... If they're willing (and allowed) to take the risks, this show could run for years yet without growing stale.
My personal hope for season 5: I've always liked shows where the main characters' growth is actually applied later on. I'd like more of what we saw in Twilight Time: the mane 6 helping others to learn lessons. I reckon Twilight, as Princess of Friendship, would make a great ambassador (with her 5 BFFs as her royal entourage). It would be a perfect excuse to regularly explore new characters, settings, conflicts, and morals, while regularly returning home to Ponyville to catch up with the characters we already know.

Season 4 was notable in that there wasn't any major fandom drama. S1 had already come and gone by the time most of us got into it, but I imagine there was trepidation about whether or not the show would would be renewed. S2 was marred by Lauren leaving the writing staff, and the addition of a third alicorn (before we got a chance to see Cadance in action). S3 was hamstrung by only being half-length, combined with the Equestria Girls movie, and Twilight's ascension. Season 4 managed to not only do damage control for the fallout from S3, but stood up as a great season in its own right. The only possible way I could foresee drama stemming from it would've been the question of S5. They made the right choice in announcing Season 5 before S4 ended- it allowed us to sit back and enjoy the finale, secure in the knowledge that there would be more to come.

The ending with the dragonball z battle and then the sailor moon transformation. Omg, was that too much, I laughed my ass off it was beautiful. I love the over the top they do. I'm so blessed to be apart of this amazing adventure with all you guys, my friends.

I think there's a point here that leaves the Season Finale with one giant question I want answered, and hey, this could be the "Season-5-Return-of-the-Changlings-and-Sombra" I'm dreaming of:

Tarek escaped from Tartarus because Cerberus left his place at the gates. Obviously this happened in Season 2 in "It's About Time" which begs the question: Why did Cerberus leave the gates of Tartarus?

Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm no lore scholar, but Cerberus is supposed to be pretty serious about guarding those gates, so something or someone powerful had to have spooked him away, right?

Well, finally finished watching Doctor Who Series 1 to Series 7 + Specials.
Now finished with MLP.
Finished Dragons: Defenders of Berk some months ago.
Finished watching Legend of Korra Book 2.

what do i do with my life

Anyway, season 4 of MLP was simply amazing. My favorite episode would be the finale, so many epic stuff! Two epic songs, and one awesome battle. Season 4 lived up to my expectations, I'm happy MLP made it this far, hopefully it'll continue on to season 6 too. Going to re-watch season 1,2,3, and 4 again.

I would say Rarity was the MVP this season. Her episodes on average were not as good as her older ones (SW being pretty cringe worthy) but her performance and presence in other episodes (like Castlemania, Power Ponies, Filli Vanilli) were more than enough to elevate her.

Especially since the biggest issue with her was her behavior in episodes not about her.

While I would say Pinkie's episodes were the best, a lot of them were not really good because of her (you know what I mean, Pinkie pride had Weird Al and Maud had Maud) and she was a non-presence at best outside of those episodes.

If focus episode quality is all that matters, then Pinkie would be MVP. However, then Rarity would kind of take home best pony overall since her episodes are the best overall out of the mane 6 (give or take depending on how you count what episodes are hers and which aren't)